Good Words from God’s Word
 
A “PRIEST” in the Bible is known as someone whom God has designated and equipped to be a minister on behalf of His people. Priests were officials in Israel who represented the people before God and performed various ministries to atone for their sins. The first priests were descended from Aaron in the days of Moses. 
 
The first priest mentioned in scripture is Melchizedek, a contemporary of Abraham. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and his army following the great victory over the pagan king Chedorlaomer.
 
Melchizedek was the King of Salem who served as Priest to the God Most High (Genesis 14:18). The Bible goes on to claim that Melchizedek was eternal in nature (Hebrews 7:1-3). He became a foretaste of the coming Messiah who would give His own life as a sacrifice for the sins of the people.
 
Someone asked me recently, “What happened to the SHEPHERDING model of ministry that we once believed was so important?”
 
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
 
Jesus understood Himself to be the great shepherd because He is the one and only PRIEST born according to the order of Melchizedek.
 
There was a poor farmer who lived alone in the country accept for an old lop-eared dog on which he doted. One day the old dog passed away and the farmer went to the Baptist Preacher in town and asked, “Preacher my dog has finally died. Would it be possible for you to say a few words for the animal?”
 
The minister sharply refused, “We cannot possibly have a service for a deceased animal in this church. I’ll tell you what; there is a new church down the road of some new ideological stripe that might help you out. No telling what they believe in.”
 
The farmer replied, “I will give them a call. By the way, do you think a $1,000 would be a sufficient donation for the service?”
 
To which the preacher said, “Why didn’t you tell me your dog was a Baptist?
 
Ministry in our day has many faces, anywhere from the television evangelist, to the social media advisor, to the best-selling author, or the corporate executive at the top of a bulging staff enterprise. There are all kinds of ministries and ministers.
 
The Bible seems to favor those who Shepherd. It was the shepherds who heard the angels sing on that first Christmas night. It was the shepherd boy David that God called to become King over Israel. The coming Messiah foretold in scripture would be fashioned in the mold of a shepherd;
                     “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
                     In His arm He will gather the lambs
                     And carry them in His bosom;
                     He will gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11).
 
Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, was God’s Great High Priest. He is our good Shepherd who takes care of His flock. It is Jesus who is worthy of our worship this morning. Christmas is a time for worship. It is a time for shepherding people. Maybe God is calling you to assume a PRIESTLY attitude where you joyfully serve as a shepherd to someone in need.
 
Praise God for our High Priest, Jesus, who is also our loving and caring Shepherd.  

Good Words from God’s Word
 
This Christmas season will be celebrated at Grace with a special sermon series entitled “Christmas in the Psalms.”
 
The birth of Jesus was born in the heart of God many decades prior to His coming in Bethlehem. The birth of Jesus was not random. Jesus Christ was not a created being as the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim. The birth of our savior was intentional. It was according to God’s plan which was established prior to the creation of the world (Colossians 1:15-17). Listen to what the early church believed about  the birth of Jesus:
 
“We believe in …one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father before all the worlds, Light of lights, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father…” (Nicene Creed, 325 AD).
 
Jesus Christ was not made, He was begotten of the Father. The Savior born of a virgin was not merely a man who became God at some point in His upbringing. He was “God of very God” from the day He was conceived of the Holy Spirit  (Luke 1:30-35). These are some of the things that Psalms has to teach us at Christmas time.
 
Someone asked Billy Graham, “I know Christians believe Jesus was divine, but what exactly does that mean?”
 
Graham replied, “The difference is that Jesus was not only a godly man, but the Bible says He was actually God in human flesh …only a divine savior could save us from our sins.”
 
Jesus was not divine because he was a better person than you and me. Jesus was God because He was begotten of God. God made Jesus pure. God made Jesus eternal. God made Jesus wise. God made Jesus in His own likeness as the Psalmist says,
 
“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten you’” (Psalm 2:7).
 
Ronald Reagan wrote the following: Meaning no disrespect to the religious convictions of others, I still can't help wondering how we can explain away, what to me is the greatest miracle of all that is recorded in history. No one denies there was such a man, that he lived and that he was put to death by crucifixion. Where ...is the miracle I spoke of? Well consider this and let your imagination translate the story into our own time -- possibly to your own home town. A young man whose father is a carpenter grows up working in his father's shop. One day he puts down his tools and walks out of his father's shop. He starts preaching on street corners and in the nearby countryside, walking from place to place, preaching all the while, even though he is not an ordained minister. He does this for three years. Then he is arrested, tried and convicted. There is no court of appeal, so he is executed at age 33 along with two common thieves. Those in charge of his execution roll dice to see who gets his clothing -- the only possessions he has. His family cannot afford a burial place for him so he is interred in a borrowed tomb. End of story? No, this uneducated, property-less young man who ...left no written word has, for 2000 years, had a greater effect on the world than all the rulers, kings, emperors; all the conquerors, generals and admirals; all the scholars, scientists and philosophers who have ever lived -- all of them put together. How do we explain that? ...unless he really was who he said he was."
 
Join me this Christmas in celebrating who Jesus is through the eyes of the Psalmist. Today, we will see Jesus as the “…begotten Son” of the Father.”
 
The apostle John said of Jesus, “…and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14b).
 
This morning as you worship do what the hymn writer said, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
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